In the injection molding industry, products are formed by closing two mold segments to define a mold cavity and injecting plastic melt into the cavity. When the product is ready to be removed, the two mold segments are moved apart and the product is then ejected from the mold cavity. This process is effectively used to create thousands of products and steady developments in the industry have helped to find new uses for injection molding.
The industry also demands higher productivity and efficiency to lower product costs. One common method of increasing productivity is to increase the speed of the injection molding process. Consequently, as the speed of the molding process increases, the tolerance for error in positioning the two mold segments decreases. Many methods of guiding and aligning two mold segments are known in the art. A typical method is the use of a mold positioning system wherein a male member is attached to the side of one mold segment and a female member is attached to the corresponding side of the second mold segment. The two members engage one another when the mold assembly is closed to properly position the two mold segments relative to each.
The mold positioning system, however, is susceptible to wear and slight wear becomes problematic in molding processes that require high positioning precision. Additionally, highly repetitive processes can substantially increase the wear of the mold positioning system. Currently, the only remedy for the worn mold positioning system is full replacement, which increases costs and lowers productivity and efficiency. Therefore, there is a need in the industry for mold positioning systems that do not require replacement of the entire system when its components become worn.